


Long journey: Zero to All

by BrownieBBunny



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Crossover, Explicit Language, M/M, Minor Character Death, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:09:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22340836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownieBBunny/pseuds/BrownieBBunny
Summary: Losing it all is, sometimes, the only way to find the one thing you've been looking for, even if you're not aware of your search.So... what is your treasure?
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong & Song Mingi, Kim Hongjoong/Song Mingi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 35





	1. Prologue: Zero

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> This fanfic is inspired in Ateez's music and MV's, and I know, Ateez and pirates is cliche but I really wanted to do it.  
> I decided to not to tag the side ships to not flood their tags with work that aren't centered in them, but they are WooSan (of course) and SeongSang (Seonghwa/Yeosang)  
> You can find me on twitter with the same name as here! (BrownieBBunny)  
> I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update because I've been really busy lately so please cheer me up in the comment section.  
> Thank you for opening this and I hope you enjoy💕

They will remember for the rest of their lives the moment when the skies turned grey, loud sounds like thunders exploding from an unknown ship as cannons fired against the one they were, the screams of higher ups calling for action, the clash of swords and gunshots everywhere, and the heat of flames filling their young lungs as a war started in the middle of the ocean.

They won't forget because it was the beginning of their real journey, a violent start to a new life.


	2. Aurora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, let's start with this journey.  
> First I want to thank @smgkhj on twt for cheering on me through the process of writing this first chapter and also I want to thank to all the people that decides to read this💕  
> My twt is the same as this user, @BrownieBBunny
> 
> Excuse my errors please, english is not my first language.  
> I hope you ejoy

They went from fire to water in one jump.  
As the ocean hugged them both, all sounds muffled out and images disappeared momentarily to bring them a fake utopia in the middle of an unexpected chaos caused by their enemies.

Mingi kept his eyes closed to avoid the salty waters in, his hand firmly gripping onto his lifelong friend's arm as they held their breaths while hiding under a piece of wood that was floating above their heads. He wasn't sure for how long they've been underwater but he could feel his lungs reaching their limit. Yunho noticed that by how hard his friend was holding onto him so he tapped Mingi's shoulder twice to then place his lips over his friend's mouth to pass him oxigen.  
They needed to wait a little more.  
Eternal seconds later, they heard a muted scream of a man saying that 'there were no survivors', and then another one calling the rest of the crew for retreat.

Unsettling calm afterwards.

Mingi was the first one to emerge from the water with a deep intake of air and placed an arm over the piece of wood to keep him afloat since he was tired. Yunho did the same a few seconds later, he breathed heavily and let Mingi pull him close to the wood.  
"We are alive" Mingi said in an incredulous tone while looking at the ship further away to the horizon.  
"We are the only ones" answered Yunho as he watched the rests of the ship they used to sail on sinking and on fire, the ones that used to be their comrades too.  
They couldn't do another thing but stare at the destruction around them, a war they barely fought because they got kicked to the waters as they clashed swords with...pirates.

As sailors freshly out of the Navy training, they were ready to fight, of course, just how they were taught, yet a pirate ship appeared out of nowhere and annihilated even the most experienced ones on their ship. That's why it was hard for them to understand that they, the least experienced ones, were the only survivors to that situation, and all because their enemies thought they went down into the waters.  
"If we could only find a dry flare right now" Yunho said now staring at the orange sunset "...not that that would help because we're in the middle of nowhere, but it would be nice to have a chance"  
Mingi stayed quiet as he kept overthinking all that happened to them in a matter of minutes. "We are going to die frozen once the sun sets" was the only thing that came out of his mouth after a few minutes, Yunho laughed at that.  
"At least we have each other" Yunho giggled some more and then he directed his eyes towards the sunset once again. "...and we get to see the sun go to sleep one last time" he added.

As the sunlight dimmed in the sky and their silence increased, both of the young men immersed themselves in thoughts, memories and a bit of sadness too.  
Mingi found it hard to grasp the concept of his life ending like this. After so much hard work he finally became a soldier and his journey was about to begin so, to know this was how it was going to conclude was the worst thing for him. He was supposed to go back to his hometown with pride and show off his success, bring honor to his family, not dissapear.

"Look! Up in the sky!" Yunho shook him out of his thoughts, literally since he was frantically moving his arm, smiled at him and pointed at the weird lights that appeared above them "It's an Aurora Borealis!"  
Mingi returned a sad smile to his friend, not really in the mood for something like that.  
"Make a wish!"  
Oh Yunho, always so bright.  
"Ok"

'Aurora, bring me home'

After their wishes were made, Mingi only felt emptiness. An imaginary clock ticked in his head, in reverse.  
The water was now calm and cold and so their bodies, yet Yunho's smile stayed intact. Ever since Mingi met him, he always been like that, a light among darkness.

'Aurora, keep us warm. Wrap us up.'

"There are many things I haven't seen in this world, and one of those is you crying, Mingi" Yunho breathed slow and continued "Please keep me ignorant of that sight"  
Mingi briefly smiled at his friend, such beautiful words even now.

Minutes passed, the weak waves around them softly swayed them, water even cooler than before. The stars shined bright in a sky that had dancing green lights while they only waited for something to happen, to finally fall asleep maybe.

'Aurora...'

There was a loud, high pitched scream in the distance that made both sailors lift their heads. They turned around slowly and saw lights that resembled torches, sails and-

"It's...a ship" Yunho said with a weak voice, his eyes half closed. Mingi reacted to that and screamed at the top of his lungs. The voices from the ship went quiet. Mingi glanced back at Yunho who looked sleepy in a bad way, like almost fainting, which made him very nervous. He screamed once again, a rush of adrenaline due to desperation ran through him.  
The ship and it's lights slowly got nearer.  
"Captain!"  
"Over here Captain!"  
"See! I wasn't crazy"  
Mingi saw fire getting closer, torches being held by people that stood at the side of the ship looking for them both. He turned around once more, Yunho's eyes closed. "No, no, no, no, Yunho they are almost here, hold on" No response.  
A sharp voice started giving orders with strength. "Lower an auxiliar bote! San, Jongho, you two help them get on, go!"

The green lights in the sky started shining brighter as they were rescued, the waters more frantic with every loud "Pull!" someone said to coordinate everybody's movement. Mingi held Yunho close to him tightly, who was hopefully just asleep.

'Aurora, save him'


	3. Pirate King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again!  
> It took me a while to correct this due to uni but here it is! I hope you enjoy it  
> I would love to read your thoughts/comments about this story because that keeps me motivated and also thank you for the kudos💕  
> As always, you can find me on twitter @ BrownieBBunny
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Mingi was tired and cold, but having Yunho with his eyes closed in his arms made him keep going. The two guys that helped them both to get on the auxiliar boat, were now pulling onto some ropes to lift the boat once again, their shipmates probably doing the same from the deck.

"Sannie, your hand!"

One of the young men from the boat looked up at the call and reached for his sailmate's hand, who pulled him up so he could get out and pull the ropes from outside with the rest, the other one did that too.

"Hey! hold onto it and put your foot there, it'll be easier that way" a calm voice said while lowering a rope towards Mingi.

He did as the calm guy told him, put his foot inside the loop knot, held the rope with one hand and strongly wrapped his other arm around Yunho. That way, the people from the ship lifted them faster and when they reached the border of the deck, they ran towards the pair to help them.

Mingi hugged Yunho tightly as he sat on the floor, too tired and overwhelmed to stand, he also closed his eyes.

"Make space, let them breathe" the sharp voice from earlier said.

After a moment, footsteps made their way towards the pair, Mingi lifted his gaze. A guy kneeled in front of him, he had intense honey eyes that stared directly into his. Mingi was shaking from the cold and also a bit from how intimidating the other was. Not even the old generals from the navy were as scary looking as this young sailor in front of him.

"M-my friend..." Mingi managed to say.

"Jongho, Wooyoung, take the blond one to the infirmary so Yeosang can check him" the guy ordered as soon as his eyes landed on his friend.

So he was the one with the sharp voice, huh.

Two of them nodded and took Yunho away from Mingi's grasp, tho he didn't oppose to that since the one in front of him mentioned an infirmary.

"Sailors, huh?" The honey eyed man said as he stood up while staring at his uniform. Mingi nodded. "What happened to you and your crew?"

"We were attacked... p-pirates" Mingi answered between shivers

"The irony..." the guy said as he giggled and turned towards his people "...San, Seonghwa, you know where he goes"

The one that helped rescue him and Yunho nodded, the man on his side too. Both grabbed Mingi by the arms and dragged him towards some stairs like nothing, knowing the sailor was too tired to fight back. "What? Hey!" They took him to the hold of the ship and then caged him in the far back. The taller of the pair lit up a candle and left it inside a lantern that hanged from a hook on the wooden ceiling. "The Captain will come soon" he pronounced before leaving with the other man.

"Wait hey! Why am I being caged? Hey!"

And so Mingi was left there, sitting on the floor while being cold, wet and confused. He was a sailor, a good guy, so caging him made no sense.

Some long minutes later, Mingi heard the sound of heels slowly making their way towards the last floor of the ship where he was imprisoned, the silhouette of the honey eyed man appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He slowly walked towards him, gradually got closer to the candlelight with a smirk that looked like he was enjoying making Mingi nervous with every step.

"Hello sailor boy" he pronounced.

"You are the Captain?"

He only smiled.

Now that he was more calm and had the guy standing in front of him, Mingi took the time to observe.

The captain wasn't tall yet he emanated a strong energy, his hair was light brown and long, an angular and perfect looking face with an elegant pointy nose and honey eyes that had a dark halo around them.

"Your name sailor?"

Should he give out information?

"Song Mingi"

The captain walked back and forth in front of the cage and stared at him for a few seconds, huffed a little before that and extended a hand inside the cage. "Change. You are cold"

Mingi stood, took the dry clothes the man offered him and then watched him walk to a side where he dragged out a chair to sit in front of the cage.

"Go on" he said while getting comfortable "oh and throw your uniform my way"

Untrusting, Mingi began taking off his clothes, which was a difficult task due to them being wet. First he peeled off his coat and threw it towards the captain's feet, the piece made a wet sound against the wooden floor accompanied by the metallic rattle from his badges. Then he unknotted his tie and after that, slowly unbuttoned his white shirt.

Something in the way the captain was watching him made him furious.

"Enjoying the view?"

"Oh yeah, checking if you have any hidden weapons is very fun... sailor" the guy answered in an arrogant tone.

Mingi huffed.

"Go on, sailor"

Apparently the captain liked mocking his title, something that made Mingi grow more angry every time.

Mingi took off his shoes and socks, throwing them out of the cell like everything else so far. After a glare towards the man that was sitting in front of him, Mingi unbuttoned his pants, slid them off of his legs with patience since they were almost plastered to his skin and then threw them towards the captain's chest with annoyance. The guy only laughed a bit.

"Sailor" the captain made a pause while folding the pants "take _everything_ off"

"Isn't his enough?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised on how creative people can get to hide even the smallest of knifes"

With a 'tsk', Mingi rolled his eyes and stripped from his underwear too, yet he kept it in his hands.

"Turn around" the captain indicated slowly as he motioned with his index finger.

The young sailor obeyed irritated by the situation. He could feel the captain's eyes going all over his figure even if he was giving the guy his back.

"Are you going to keep those wet briefs?" The playful tone of the captain was mixed with something different this time "You'll wet the rest of the clothes"

Mingi didn't respond, in fact, he stayed still in his place with his back sill towards the other.

"Fine. By the way, your friend is okay"

At the mention of Yunho, all of his anger was forgotten. Mingi turned around slightly while trying to reach the dry clothes he was given and asked for his friend.

"H-he woke up?"

"No, but our doctor treated his cut already. It was a bit deep but he'll heal just fine. The doc said he fainted from exhaustion, blood loss and cold. He's sleeping in the infirmary so you can relax sailor boy"

'A cut? When? Thank heavens he is fine' Mingi thought.

"On the other hand, you got lucky. No injuries at all" the captain stood up with the wet pile of clothes in one arm "Rest well, I'll bring food in the morning"

"Wait" Mingi breathed deeply to try and calm his anger towards the man "Thank you for taking care of Yunho" Mingi turned around and with pants already on, he bowed. He could go to go through this for his friend's health. "By the way, sir..." Agh, everything for Yunho "how may i call you?"

The young man outside the cage smiled lightly. "Just Captain Kim is enough"

"Thank you for saving us Captain Kim"

The young captain nodded slightly and walked away silently.

* * *

With a little bit of strength, Hongjoong ripped off a button from the cuff of the sleeve of the uniform he obtained from the sailor, turned it around and read the name 'Song Mingi' on it. So the sailor didn't lie, huh. The captain then made his way towards the infirmary that was located at the back of the middle deck and once he found the doctor there, he silently whispered to the other so he wouldn't wake up the patient.

"Hey Yeosangie. I just checked the other guy and he's just fine" he walked towards a chair where the blond sailor's uniform was and ripped a button off to check his name like he did before. 'Jeong Yunho'. "How is this one doing so far?" he asked as he grabbed Yunho's coat too.

"He's asleep and hopefully he won't get fever. I'm going to wait for him to wake up to give him medicine but I'm running out of ingredients here."

Hongjoong hummed at that and decided to run a hand over Yunho's forehead to check his temperature. "I'll adjust our course towards Shanghai then"

Yeosang nodded at that. "You should go to sleep hyung, Seonghwa hyung will take care of the wheel"

The captain smiled. "I will, but first I gotta do more stuff" he turned around, wished the doctor a peaceful night since he was going to stay awake for the patient, and exited the room. Hongjoong then went to the rooms across the infirmary, looking for someone to help him with something in specific. He knocked on the door from the room in the middle and spoke. "Wooyoung? Are you still awake?"

The door opened slowly, a few giggles could be heard from inside.

"I am hyung"

"Nice, I have work for you though you can do it in the morning. I need you to sew this buttons on again and make them look like nothing ever happened to this clothes"

"Hmm, ok. Are you planning on keeping them alive?"

Hongjoong didn't respond, only smiled.

"Good night Wooyoung"

After that, the captain went to the quarterdeck to check on the man currently in charge of the course of the ship. "Seonghwa hyung..."

"Joong, still awake?"

The captain raised his shoulders at that.

"Gotta make sure everything's alright now that we have new people around, specially sailors"

The other man moved his head slightly as to indicate he understood the situation.

"Hyung, we need to go to Shanghai, Yeosang-"

"Yeah he mentioned it to me yesterday" the older one said, cutting the captain's speech in the middle "I'll take care of that. Now go to sleep for once and for all"

"Fine mom" Hongjoong teased

"I'll kick you" Seonghwa said, causing a light laugh to the captain.

Finally, Hongjoong made his way to the stern of the quarterdeck where the cabin was, which had the two biggest bedrooms of the ship. He went directly to his bed and even if he's been awake for two days before that, the recent events made him feel uneasy enough to not let him sleep.

He, a pirate, accepted two sailors into his ship, meaning the lives of his people and even his own were possibly in danger. Thankfully he's not that stupid. One of the sailors has been asleep the whole time, and the other, judging by his actions, probably hasn't realized yet since he didn't give away any information so they were fine, by now. If everything went smoothly, he could leave the two sailors at some arbitrary port and avoid any battle.

Yeah, he could do that.

* * *


	4. Illusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again!  
> Sorry for taking so long but I've been very busy with exhams and life in general.  
> I hope you like this chapter and I'll be back once I'm done with all my Uni stuff🌟  
> Enjoy!

* * *

A loud bang against the metal bars of the cell woke Mingi up from his sleep. It was one of the boys that helped him and Yunho be rescued.

"Good morning, sorry for waking you up like this. Kang seonsaengnim wants you at the infirmary"

At that, Mingi quickly rubbed his eyes and got up, taking a moment to adjust to being awake after sleeping on the wooden floor. The young boy opened the cell and gestured him to get out to then close it once again and lead the way. They went up the stairs and finally arrived to a door where the boy knocked on three times, which got opened by a young man with light brown hair. "Kang seonsaengnim"

"Jongho, come in." He moved to a side to let them in.

"I'm fine, I brought him like you asked"

The young doctor moved his head in understandment "You must be Mingi"

Mingi nodded. How did he-?

"Eyyy" a faint voice exclaimed.

The doctor turned around, lit up a fourth candle in the room and then left it on the nightstand besides the bed of the infirmary.

Yunho was there, Mingi's face went bright at the sight. "Hey" He sat down at Yunho's feet and smiled, his friend returning the gesture "How are you feeling?"

Right before he finished his question, the doctor tapped his shoulder twice and offered him a metal cup with warm tea and bread with jam. How nice. He thanked him and turned his eyes towards Yunho once again.

"I'm feeling very good actually, kinda crazy to know I've been cut when I never felt a thing. How are you?"

"My back hurts a bit from sleeping on the floor but I'm fine"

At that, an airy giggle filled the room. The doctor covered his mouth trying to not to laugh loudly yet his shoulders still shook as a sign of it. When he noticed the sailors eyes on him, the doctor Kang straightened his posture and as he tried to avoid more laughter, he spoke "Once you two finish with breakfast, it would be nice if you take Yunho for a walk on the deck. He needs to make his blood flow so his wound heals properly"

Mingi nodded and watched doctor Kang leave the room, probably to refresh himself since he looked tired. He then stared at Yunho once more, who was a bit paler than his usual skin color and was still sleepy. He had a tray on his side with an empty cup like his and an equal empty plate with bread crumbs.

"Where is the cut?" Mingi asked out of worry and curiosity.

Yunho smiled and lifted the left side of the loose shirt he was wearing revealing a stitched wound over his ribs. It was a considerably long cut, no wonder why he fainted after so much time and effort.

"The doctor said that I was lucky that it was superficial" Yunho sighed "Kang seonsaengnim took care of me all night long. He's so nice and quiet."

After talking for a while, Mingi helped Yunho to carefully get up from the bed, held him from one side with his arm wrapped around his friend. They slowly made their way to the stairs and patiently climbed them since Yunho found it painful to breathe and move.

Up in the main deck, the air was fresh, the sun was faintly coming up from the horizon tainting the sky a baby blue that contrasted with the stark darkness at the other side.

"So pretty" Yunho pronounced as he placed his hands over the railing on the side to use it as a support "I've never seen a sunrise like this one before"

And he was right. Sunrises usually are just quick and very bright, but this one had something else. Mingi took his time to observe and suddenly he saw green mixed with the blues, he realized the sun was more golden than the usual pale yellow and as he turned around, he saw the sky was almost split in half. The light blue with green and gold lights melted into purples and dark blues that had weak stars mixed in it.

"Is that-?"

"Aurora" Mingi said interrupting Yunho.

They both smiled at the art above them remembering the wishes they'd made to the dancing green lights there. Mingi shook his head to get out of his awe and grabbed Yunho's hand "You have to walk". Yunho giggled and slowly followed Mingi with his right hand lightly laid on top of his hurt ribs.

The ship was bigger than what they thought, and more elegant than what they expected. A full rigged ship made of very dark woods and cream colored sails, carved detail work in some places and seats to enjoy the view while travelling. It wasn't a helpless vessel though, cannons could be seen on the deck and they both guessed there were more on the lower levels. After walking around the main deck, they decided to go up the short stairs that lead to the forecastle deck, a section that was empty of war weapons and more oriented to relaxation since it was more decorated, had more benches and fancy lanterns. They looked around a bit before noticing there were two other people there aside from them, almost glued together at the very front, ignoring everything.

"We should leave" Yunho whispered while looking at the hugged pair that looked into the horizon.

"Why? It's nice here"

At that, the two men turned around and untangled from each other. They looked at Mingi, who waved at them and wished them a good morning. The shorter one laughed a bit while the other tried to hide from embarrassment, and then, they slowly made their way towards Mingi and Yunho.

"Good morning!" The blond one greeted, the other walked right behind him while holding his hand. "How are you feeling?" The question directed towards Yunho.

"Good. Thanks for asking."

"Please sit down, you must be in pain" the young man said while gesturing towards a bench there. "I'm Wooyoung, and this is my boyfriend San". The guy behind him muttered a shy 'oh my god, Woo!' and covered his face with his free hand.

Yunho giggled at that.

It was no secret that out in the sea, sailors usually found love between them, but in the Navy, such thing was a huge taboo so it was kept secret from the higher ranks and never shown in public, even less talked about it openly. So Wooyoung calling San his boyfriend in front of strangers was actually a huge act of bravery and even almost a dare to say something against them. Like an invitation to clash swords.

"I'm Mingi" he offered his hand "You helped us both to get on the boat" he said towards San.

"Ah, yeah. Nice to meet you"

"Jeong Yunho. I was almost dead so I didn't saw a thing but thank you so much"

Wooyoung let out a high pitched laugh and clapped two times. "Cute" he muttered.

They chatted a bit about small things, slowly getting comfortable with each other's company. Wooyoung was the talkative one while San was on the quiet side. He just held Wooyoung's hand and played with his fingers a bit.

They are a cute couple, different but the same to say it in a way. Wooyoung has blond curly hair while San's is dark brown with a white strand at the side of his bangs, also curly. Wooyoung has a beauty mark under his left eye and San has freckles all over his neck and some faint ones on his cheeks. They are about the same height, San being the taller one of the pair. Wooyoung is loud and giggly, San is quiet yet he smiles and nods to what his boyfriend says.

After some time, Wooyoung saw someone on the main deck from the bench they all were and spoke animatedly.

"That's Yeo-"

"Kang seonsaengnim! You probably already know him" San nervously interrupted.

Mingi and Yunho nodded.

"Who's on the one on the wheel? San and him took me to the cell yesterday" Mingi recalled.

San snorted. "The cell" he repeated while holding back his laughter. Is that everybody was going to laugh about it? "That's Lieutenant Park"

The two sailors went 'oh' at the information, staring at the direction where the man was. Wooyoung waved at him from where they were and Park lifted a hand as a response.

The boy that woke Mingi up appeared following the doctor around with a big wooden box in his arms, apparently helping Kang move things.

"That's Jongho. He's the youngest and the strongest too. Don't fuck with him"

"Woo!"

"Ah sorry. Don't mess with him" Wooyoung then turned at San "better?" His boyfriend nodded with a smile. "You already know Captain Kim so..."

"I don't know him" Yunho added.

"Short, sleep deprived and annoyingly bossy. Long hair, pointy nose and... I'm going to fight him. He made me sleep in a cage!"

Wooyoung and San exploded in laughter after Mingi's description. "It's awfully accurate, wow" San said, Woo unable to form a word since he was still laughing.

"I still have back pain"

Wooyoung and San laughed more and Yunho joined them due to them being contagious. So Mingi's disgrace is fun?

"Let me help you" San said as he stood up and gestured Mingi to do the same "Hold your hands together behind your back and stand straight". Once the sailor did as he was told, San lifted Mingi's hands upwards with one of his as to level them with his shoulders while keeping his arms straight, his other hand applied pressure to the waist. Mingi's spine cracked, Yunho winced at the sounds. "Now stretch upwards" he instructed. The sailor did as San said once again and let out a relieved sound.

"Wow, thank you so much"

"No problem"

Almost as a cue, Yunho yawned and giggled once he realized all eyes laid on him after that.

"So cute" Wooyoung whispered while covering his smile with his hands.

"I guess I have to take you back to the infirmary" Mingi offered his hand towards his friend to help him stand up. Yunho said his goodbyes to the couple and slowly followed Mingi. The blond one went to sleep as soon as he arrived to the room, the doctor Kang was already waiting for him inside. Then, Mingi returned to the main deck to find that Wooyoung, San and the boy Jongho were now working on the ships maintenance. The sailor asked them if they needed any help, after all, he knows about all the chores that has to be done in a ship everyday, but they refused and even asked him to rest since he still looked exhausted after the rescue. Mingi watched them walk back and forth for a while and then realized something.

"Where is the ship's destination?"

"Shanghai" Wooyoung quickly answered.

San and Jongho looked at him with judging expressions, like telling him he talked way too much.

Everybody knows Shanghai is a shady port to go.

"Sailor!" A voice called. It came from the quarterdeck, where the wheel was.

Mingi turned around and saw the Lieutenant Park motioning to him, inviting him to where he was. The young sailor went up the stairs that were on the side and made his way towards the man.

Park is a very handsome man, Mingi could tell from afar. Black hair, light golden skin, elegant, well tailored clothes and a smile that could kill. Once he was closer to him, he realized his hair was parted to a side, his bangs covering his left eye that had two straps over it. An eyepatch?.

"Song Mingi, right?" The sailor nodded at that "Nice to meet you, call me Park. I invited you here because you were in the middle of the deck and as you see, Jongho is cleaning the floors"

Mingi peeped from the balcony that was formed by the quarterdeck and saw Jongho with a big broom, whistling and cleaning.

"Oh, I'm sorry"

The man smiled once again while looking towards him this time and yes, he had an eyepatch that was barely noticeable if it wasn't for the three straps of it. His right eye though, was a deep shade of grey-ish-blue, something very rare.

"Sir, I heard we are going to Shanghai" Mingi decided to state abruptly.

"Yes. Doctor Kang's storage is running low and he needs to prepare medicine for your friend Yunho, so we decided to make a quick stop at Shanghai's port"

Oh. Mingi nodded without further asking, something very naïve from him. After all, it was for Yunho's well being so, maybe not getting much into their business was a good thing.

"What is this ship for?"

"What a curious young thing you are!" Park said almost babying him "This is just a merchant ship"

Mingi nodded without further questions once again.

Silence settled between the two, the sailor observed the rest carry boxes, mop the wood or check the knots from the sails, until he saw Doctor Kang come from the lower deck with very tired eyes. He spoke with Wooyoung, who then went down the same stairs. Apparently, it was Wooyoung's turn at the infirmary. After that, everything went calm. So calm that Mingi decided to wander around the ship again, this time he paid attention to the details and tried to waste as much time as he could.

Time flew for sure considering how Kang seonsaengnim was now wearing different clothes, an apron and carried a big pot with soup ready to serve the people their meal. They all formed a line to receive a warm bowl and a spoon, Mingi was called to get one too. The tall sailor ate in silence and observed the doctor carry a bowl up the stairs of the quarterdeck with San behind him. The doc waited until San and Park exchanged places to then hand the bowl to the Lieutenant. It was brief, but both men looked at each other with sweetness and smiled, Kang even giggled a little and turned around towards the stairs once more. Huh.

Kang called Mingi once again as he served two extra bowls. "Could you please take these to Woo and Yunho?"

The sailor nodded and happily helped. He thanked Doctor Kang for the delicious food and carefully turned to complete his task. Approaching the infirmary, he heard Yunho's whimpers and a few 'shushes' from Wooyoung. Mingi knocked on the door with his foot since both of his hands were busy, though it opened at the slightest touch since it wasn't properly closed. Yunho was sweaty and shirtless, Wooyoung hovered over him with wet cloths on his hand to clean the wound on his friend's ribs. There were aloe leafs cut in half on top of the nightstand and just two candles lit up.

"I- I brought food"

Wooyoung beamed at that. "Thank you. I'll finish with this first" he looked at Yunho then "a bit more and then you can eat and rest all you want, ok Yunnie?"

Yunnie?

Yunho nodded, breathed deeply and allowed Wooyoung to finish cleaning the injury. Mingi watched how gentle the shorter blond man tried to be, but Yunho's body was too sensitive due to the cut he had. Wooyoung then applied aloe around the stitches and slowly helped the taller one to sit so he could eat. The short one apologised to Yunho between spoonfuls of soup, though there was nothing else he could do to clean the taller's wound. When they finished, Mingi picked the empty bowls and wished them a good rest while Wooyoung helped Yunho get comfortable once again.

Up in the main deck once again, Mingi retrieved the empty bowls to the doctor and offered his help with cleaning the dishes since he was bored. Also, he noticed how tired Kang was so helping him to finally letting him go to sleep was the best he could do. It wasn't much cleaning to do anyways. 

The kitchen was in a room behind the infirmary, with enough space for a small storage room. The water for cleaning was limited so Mingi had to be conscious and fast.

After all that, Mingi returned to the main deck for the nth time that day and went to the forecastle deck to sit on the benches and admire the sea for a while. No one besides Park was on sight, which made him a bit uneasy. The crew of that ship was very small in amount so, how did they managed to do all chores? How long it took them to complete those tasks? Mingi realized he got deep in his thoughts when the sun was no longer so harsh against his skin and a new voice was heard, a familiar voice. There he was, the Captain. He talked to Park and almost like sensing Mingi's eyes on him, Kim looked his way and grinned.

Mingi needed a word with him.

The sailor observed the captain walk towards the forecastle but instead of going up to its deck, he opened the doors to the room underneath it. The sailor quickly went down and knocked on the door that the Captain disappeared through.

"Come in" the man said from inside.

Mingi opened the door abruptly. He was ready to state his opinion about how he has been treated so far.

"Sailor boy, what brings you to my office?"

Mingi tried not to react to the Captain's games so soon. "Captain Kim, I believe I deserve an explanation as to why I've been caged last night"

Kim's expression went serious, he stood up from his desk chair and walked towards Mingi with his eyes fixed on the sailor's.

"If you had an unknown person that could threaten the lives of your crew on your ship, what would you do?"

Mingi didn't answer at first, he just observed the captain now that the lighting was better and noticed new things.

The Captain had makeup on, a smoky halo around them. His hair was long in the back, light brown but it also had blond mixed in, smooth skin, height about a head shorter than him. He had a worn dark gray coat on that may have been black some day, a loose white shirt with embroidery on the collar in gold, black trousers and boots, yet the most peculiar thing was the Captain's eyes. He remembers them being a honey color, though right now, looking at them directly and with sunlight, he realized they were actually a beautiful light blue shade that made them look like they were made of glass.

"Sailor..."

"Uh? Yeah? Uh... yes. I understand your point Captain, but-"

"But I think you should do just as I say since I am the Captain here and you..." Kim lifted a hand towards Mingi's chest and decided to fix the collar of the shirt the taller was wearing "...are a lost sailor with a wounded friend, enjoying the hospitality of my crew and ship. I don't think you are in a position where you can give an opinion about how I do things."

There was something in the air, Mingi couldn't really name it but he knew it was the thing that made his anger melt in an instant.

The Captain then slid his index finger across Mingi's chest, from one shoulder to the other. "I'll allow you to sleep with Jongho tonight. His room has an extra bed and also he could keep an eye on you that way. If you try anything-"

"I'm not a criminal, Captain"

"I wouldn't know" After that phrase, Kim smirked and turned around with a swift movement. "Now if you excuse me, I have things to do, boy. Talk with Jongho and be nice, ok sailor?" A mischievous tone decorated his words.

Mingi nodded defeated and exited the room.

He was supposed to be furious at the Captain for everything that has happened to him so far, yet he understood why Kim couldn't trust in him. As long as Yunho was being treated, he was decided to get through some hardships.

The sun was slowly going down. Maybe he'll see dancing green lights on the night sky once again.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn't notice, I still haven't described Mingi's appearance...  
> The rest of the crew's appearances are based in the next eras:
> 
> Hongjoong - HALA HALA  
> Seonghwa - Wonderland  
> Yunho - Wonderland  
> Yeosang - Answer  
> San - Answer  
> Wooyoung - Specifically inspired in that Hello82 interview
> 
> Thank you for reading!💕  
> Remember Kudos and comments keep writers motivated


	5. Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again!  
> Sorry for taking so long in writing this chapter but I had a lot of trouble with all this quarentine. I spent the first half of it away from home (I was in vacation) and when we could finaly return home, we took care of the cleaning and taking turns to shop and stuff. It was stressfull so that's why it took me some time but I'm back and happy to publish a chapter again.  
> Also, I opened a Ko-Fi page for donations since I'm currently saving up to buy a laptop/pc for home office and studying (I write with my phone), so if you like my content and would like to help me... [ https://ko-fi.com/browniebbunny ] ☕
> 
> Thank you for waiting and I hope you like it.

* * *

'Who the fuck he thinks he is...' Hongjoong thought once the sailor exited his office. He sat down and started sorting through the papers and putting them in order to then sing ones or read others. He also made use of a wax seal for important documents and piled them up depending on where he was going to store them.

Kim Hongjoong was a very structured person when it came to serious things but he also could be spontaneous and unexpected, a double threat.

Three knocks on his door called for his attention, and knowing by the pattern and how loud they where, it was San.

"Come in" he pronounced while reading the last paragraph of the paper he had in hand.

"Hyung, I brought you tea" he said as he placed a tray with a porcelain cup on his desk.

Hongjoong smiled. "Thank you. Sit and speak"

San did as he was told and after a deep exhale, he began his report on the events.

"So far I think they are clueless. Song Mingi is potentially dangerous just from the fact that he asks too many questions, but we could control it. He is too... gullible to say it in a way, something strange coming from a sailor. Now his friend, Jung Yunho, I don't think he is that blind but luckily he stays at the infirmary most of the time. He didn't ask much about us or the ship yet we told enough to make them believe they can trusts us. Wooyoung fucked up a few times but we are safe, he'll make up for it taking the shift at the infirmary tonight. That's all, hyung."

The Captain smiled again and sipped on his tea before he laid the last paper flat on his desk. "Your boyfriend is the only danger in this ship" he said with a wide smile "good job. Any detail I must know about?"

"Not really, maybe ask Seonghwa hyung if he has any extra thoughts"

Hongjoong nodded at that "Thank you so much San, go rest. Oh and If you can, go pinch Woo's arm for me and tell him to control his tongue"

San smiled at that and excused himself out of the Captain's office.

Once alone again, Hongjoong began to put away all the documents in different drawers from his desk to catalogue them depending on date or importance, the most valuable ones were saved in a small chest that he hid behind a bookcase's secret compartment. After that, the Captain walked across the main deck towards the quarterdeck so he could speak with Seonghwa that was still on the wheel.

"Hyung, how are you doing so far?"

"Not going to lie Hongjoongie, I'm tired. The sun has been too bright all day long"

A 'hm' in agreement came from Kim.

"The sun wasn't the worst thing though" the man looked towards the Captain and no extra words were needed "Yeosang said the blond one has to stay at least a week after our quick stop at Shanghai tomorrow, but the other... If he stays with his friend, we'll have to be careful with him. He plays innocent much too well. That or he is, actually, stupid" Hongjoong giggles at that. "Wooyoung revealed to him our destination so we can't stop at the port. We'll have to fake not wanting to be near there and send Yeosang to shop with someone else"

"And by that someone else you mean, you" Hongjoong added teasingly

"Well isn't it obvious? Who would protect my boyfriend better than me?"

"Jongho?" The Captain laughed at his hyung's expression "Joking, joking"

Seonghwa sighed "We have to act like simple merchants and that's it. It'll be easy since we are actually doing a shipment now"

"Yes, thank you for the lie" Seonghwa smiled at that "Now go to sleep hyung, you need energy to protect our doctor out there"

"Have a peaceful night Hongjoongie" the man said with a smirk.

The Captain bowed slightly to Seonghwa as he walked away and took the wheel on his hands. He also took out his compass to check the direction and looked at the map that was on the table with a few lamps besides the wheel. Everything seemed to be going correctly.

A few hours passed, the moon was shining bright up in the sky when the Captain heard footsteps coming from the deck stairs. He watched patiently to then see the sailor from earlier walk up to the railing while looking up, apparently trying to find something. 'What is the sailor boy doing?' He thought while following the other's actions with his eyes. The sailor just stared at the sky, turned around and walked like a little lost child. A giggle escaped from the Captain's mouth as he remembered San's words from earlier, he's strange for a sailor. The sound made the young man on the deck turn around and at that moment, Hongjoong and Mingi locked eyes. The ship went silent, Hongjoong had a smile on his face while Mingi's eyes were wide, startled by the Captain's presence. As the silence grew more between them, Mingi relaxed and Hongjoong's expression went neutral, still looking at each other.

"Can't sleep, sailor?" Was the phrase that finally cut the tension in the air.

"Not very tired, Captain"

At that moment, Hongjoong did a motion with his hand inviting Mingi besides him. Keep your enemies closer they say. The sailor complied instantly and after going up the forecastle stairs, he stood besides the Captain.

"How's your friend doing?"

"Yunho is fine, sir. Wooyoung is taking good care of him, we are both very thankful, Captain"

Another silence takes place between them.

"I'm sorry, I'm not used at the Navy and Military etiquette and it feels... odd to be reminded of my title every sentence. You can skip it"

A small huffed smile came out of Mingi. "I'll decline the suggestion, Captain"

"Okay"

More silence. The sailor got fidgety at some point, tapping his fingers over the back of his hands as he held them together, then he took a deep breath and took a quick look at the Captain.

"Can I ask for an estimated time of arrival to Shanghai, sir?"

"Not sure, at sunrise maybe. Are you in a hurry?"

"N-no. Just curious, sir"

As a new silence settled between them, Hongjoong felt Mingi's eyes on him, observing him deeply, not sure why so he asked.

"Anything else you want to ask, boy? Since you're staring..."

Mingi lowered his gaze to his feet at that and adjusted his posture, ashamed of being caught yet honestly, he wasn't being that subtle.

"I was just curious about your eyes, sir. The first night I saw you, they looked like they were a golden honey color though this afternoon they were a clear light blue, and now they look an ashy light brown"

What the fuck?

Hongjoong turned towards the sailor at that, confused and taken aback from the whole situation. The sailor has been paying attention to his eyes? He was supposed to find this man threatening. What on earth was going on?

Mingi still had his eyes glued to the floor, a pink tint slowly appeared on his cheeks.

"My eyes?"

"I'm sorry sir"

"What caught your attention about my eyes?" He confidently asked.

"The fact that I can't decipher their color, sir"

It was the first time in his life that Hongjoong has ever had a conversation like this while being completely sober, and with a sailor. 

The Captain looked to the front once again and let out a thoughtful 'hm', not knowing if he should answer or just let the sailor be. After a few moments, the sailor opened his mouth once again.

"Why did you saved us, sir?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Uh-" Mingi was the confused one now "We are strangers"

"Would you let someone die knowing you could've helped?"

"Not really sir, but depending on the circumstances..."

Hongjoong knew what he meant. The fucking Navy only cares for allies or advantage in numbers and overanalyze survival possibilities, so sometimes sacrificing lives to keep others was an actual option for them. For a Sailor, Mingi gave a good answer, for Hongjoong, it was inhuman.

"Is there anything that caught your attention about me, sir?" Mingi asked out of genuine curiosity, as always, yet he didn't realize the weight of everything.

With that question in the air, Hongjoong allowed himself to look at the sailor from head to toe.

Mingi is a tall guy, has dark brown hair, almost black, in an undercut that is very common in the Navy, the long part brushed back to keep his face exposed. His eyes are rather small accompanied by straight delicate eyebrows, his nose perfectly straight and sharp and rosy plush lips, all framed by a masculine oval face shape. Broad shoulders, long thick legs, strong looking arms...

Ok, he was staring too much.

"Your innocence. You act too innocent for a Sailor"

The sailor's eyes went round at the response and immediately looked at the floor, he joined his hands behind his back and rocked himself back and forth with his feet a few times. Was he shy?

"I'm just trying to not be a nuisance, sir. I've caused enough trouble by being a rebel"

Hongjoong huffed a laugh. Mingi seemed to be too easy to tame, or at least for him, it wasn't right. Sailor's are smart people, trained in different aspects so there was no way he was this docile to him.

"Right. That's why you went from your deadly stares from the cell to demand a certain treatment from a stranger to a sudden civilized conversation"

"Captain, locking me up was unnecessary"

"Oh no, it was completely necessary. I told you before, I didn't know what you were capable of doing to my crewmen so I did what was needed to protect them" Hongjoong made a pause to look at the Sailor in the eyes "Plus that night you acted very naughty, you needed a punishment, boy"

Mingi didn't respond at that, just kept his eyes towards the front and breathed deeply. "Captain, I believe we both want the same thing"

"And that is...?"

"My friend and I away from this ship"

Hongjoong hummed for the nth time that day. "Boy, you make it sound like I want to throw you both overboard and it's not like that. Of course I want us both to go on with our usual lives but your friend needs treatment. It's not like I'm going to leave you in a strange port while your friend is still bleeding and the only thing left with you is luck, no. Your friend needs a few more days until his stitches heal, also medicine, and Kang seonsaengnim is decided to make sure he is fine until we have to part ways. Is that something wrong for you?"

After that, Mingi only shook his head and was left thinking, though Hongjoong was glad to know they both, in fact, did wanted the same thing in the end.

"Last question sir. Why do you call me 'Sailor boy'? You can use my name"

_Because when a name is used, memories are kept and you grow attached._

"Because it's who you are"

"I'm not a boy, though"

"For me, you are"

Mingi smiled and nodded a bit, muttered a 'good night' and walked towards the main deck stairs, he gave a last glance to the sky and then he went down.

'What a peculiar human you are Song Mingi'

* * *

As the sky started turning lighter shades of blue, Hongjoong heard his people move around to start the day. Jongho appeared first, he took care of lowering the anchor, getting the auxiliar boat ready and then he went for Yeosang and Seonghwa's room. The pair was ready to leave to Shanghai, each one of them had a sword, the doctor had a leather satchel with him and were both dressed fully in black.

"Thank you Jongho" Seonghwa said while accepting the rope that would help them lower to the boat.

"You two have until the sunset, is it clear?" Hongjoong said from the wheel loudly.

Both of them nodded and proceeded to go down from the side of the ship. Once the captain saw the pair disappear towards the port from the forecastle, he went down the stairs while stretching a bit.

"Good morning Jongho"

"Good morning hyung. Do you want to sleep for a while?"

"No it's ok. Wake San up to help you fold the rest of the sails"

The boy nodded and with a tiny smile, he went to the deck stairs. "Oh, good morning" he said as he let the two man that were going up, pass first. It was Wooyoung helping Yunho.

"Good morning" the tall sailor greeted with a big smile, his arm around Wooyoung as a support to walk.

"Good morning and nice to finally meet you" Hongjoong said as he walked towards them.

"Captain Kim, nice to meet you too" he said as he tried to bow "aaah ah" he exclaimed from pain.

"Yunnie be careful! Don't bow" Wooyoung added between giggles "Captain, I'm going to help him with his morning walk and then I'll make breakfast"

The Captain nodded with a small grin and walked towards a bench to relax. An hour and a half later, Wooyoung walked towards him with a cup of tea and a concerned look on his face.

"Speak" the Captain said before sipping on his tea.

After helping Yunho with his walk, Wooyoung took the tall sailor back to the infirmary room, changed the bandages of his wounds and laid him down to let him rest before breakfast. When Wooyoung opened the door of the infirmary, he found Mingi about to knock on it, he smiled when caught. He wanted to see his friend so Wooyoung let him in, both talked while he went to the kitchen to prepare various beverages, serve different cups and put them in a tray to give them to all the people in the ship. As he returned to the infirmary first, Wooyoung heard the sailors whispering. That wasn't good.

"-not really sure they are legal merchants, I couldn't ask much last night, I escaped because I started talking about the captain's eyes" Wooyoung heard Mingi say

"Mingi, open your eyes, they are clearly Pirates. Think about it, they aren't part of any military ship but they have a Lieutenant, makes no sense. They stopped here to go to Shanghai's port without doubting, we don't really know their names..." Yunho reasoned

"We need to leave this ship, sneak our way out somehow or just leave" Mingi started rummaging in the room

At that Wooyoung returned to the kitchen, prepared a quick cup of simple black tea and took it to Hongjoong.

"I see. Tell Jongho and San to suit up, you should too, and lock them inside the infirmary until I tell you"

Wooyoung nodded. His eyes turned cold and stood up to do as he was told.

"Bad sailors, a shame" the Captain muttered to himself and sipped his tea a last time.

* * *

They both heard Wooyoung knock on the door while he asked them to open it.

"Why is it locked?" He yelled from the other side.

"We don't know" Mingi answered as he turned towards Yunho, something was weird.

"Try open it from that side!"

Mingi grabbed the door knob, twisted it and pushed a few times but the door still remained shut.

"I think it got stuck!" Wooyoung screamed "I'll go for the tools, wait"

Both Mingi and Yunho looked at each other knowing something was wrong. The sailors started looking around for an alternative exit but they found nothing.

"I guess we wait for Wooyoung" Yunho pronounced as he massaged his ribs to try soothe the pain

"I guess we're fucked. Think about it, we were talking about them and now we're locked" Mingi looked around while talking "we need to find something to use as a weapon and be ready to fight"

Yunho nodded and slowly got up from where he was sitting, still in pain, to help Mingi.

* * *

Hongjoong kept the sailors locked up all day, sent Wooyoung to fake try to open it and also got their weapons ready. They waited for Seonghwa and Yeosang's return to explain their silence and why they kept the ship in the dark, no candles in sight once the sun hid in the horizon.

When loud bangs against the infirmary door were heard, they all knew it was time to move.

Mingi kept kicking the door from inside, slowly breaking the wood with each impact. He grunted loudly from the effort and began to hit the door harder until it finally broke in two. Then he turned around and circled his arms around around Yunho to help him move faster. "We have to get out now, they know we know" he whispered, his friend nodded. Mingi moved carefully up the stairs since everything was pitch black and barely saw where he was going, and also to not hurt Yunho. The sudden absence of people on the ship was the chance they needed to escape, so they walked towards one of the boats on the side of the deck, left Yunho standing besides a mast for support and began undoing knots to try to lower the boat to the water. He was doing everything fairly fast when he heard Yunho's muffled whimper behind him, yet when Mingi turned around, he wasn't there.

"Fuck no" he whispered first "Yunho?" Mingi called in the dark.

After that, he felt a blow on his back that made him kneel followed by a kick to his stomach. He stood up as fast as he could and took out a knife he hid on the waistband of his pants from the infirmary, swang it a few times in front of him and waited to hear any sound to attack that way. It was useless since his attacker was very silent, kicked his leg to throw him to the floor once again, took his knife away and straddled him to keep him in place and punch him a few times on the face.

"Jongho, enough!" His voice, Mingi's blood boiled with only hearing him. "Pick him up and hold him"

A few torches lit up at that moment, showing all the crew from the ship dressed in black, with their faces covered by masks and hats to blend in with the night. 

"Sailor boy, where were you going?" The captain asked.

Even tired and in pain, Mingi looked at the Captain with all of his disgust and hatred on his eyes. He didn't answer.

The Captain did a motion with his left hand and San surged forward while holding Yunho's wrists, kicked him and made him kneel besides Mingi.

"I wish you two didn't play detectives. I was planning on letting you go in a few days once we arrive a safe port but well... you know too much now"

"You fucking-" Mingi stood up fast to attack Captain Kim but then a 'click' made him stop his movements. The man pointed a gun to his face.

Both of them looked at each other intensely, yet the Captain dared to smile. "Down, boy" he ordered calmly while he kept his gun near Mingi's temple. The sailor could only comply and kneel down once again, even if he didn't wanted to.

"Load"

Several sounds of guns unlocking filled the air. Every crewmen pointed one to them.

"Disgusting fucking..."

The Captain's smile widened.

"Say it, loud sailor"

"Pirates"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and remember, comments and kudos boosts the writer's mood💕
> 
> Ko-Fi page ☕ [ https://ko-fi.com/browniebbunny ]


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